{"id":3125,"date":"2025-10-08T08:28:34","date_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:28:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/?p=3125"},"modified":"2025-10-08T08:28:35","modified_gmt":"2025-10-08T08:28:35","slug":"the-true-role-of-monks-in-times-of-conflict-reclaiming-the-compassionate-dhamma-from-extremism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/2025\/10\/08\/the-true-role-of-monks-in-times-of-conflict-reclaiming-the-compassionate-dhamma-from-extremism\/","title":{"rendered":"The True Role of Monks in Times of Conflict: Reclaiming the Compassionate Dhamma from Extremism"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(MMNN Editorial Commentary)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Throughout Myanmar\u2019s long history, the Sangha<\/strong> has shaped the conscience of the nation. The robe carries deep moral power \u2014 capable of guiding kings and generals toward peace, or, tragically, toward justification of hatred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In these troubled times, when war and nationalism once again threaten to overshadow compassion, the Buddha\u2019s warnings in the Rogasutta<\/em> seem written for today. They remind monks to beware of greed, vanity, and false pride \u2014 the inner diseases that destroy spiritual integrity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Robe Becomes a Weapon<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Recently, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing<\/strong>, reportedly troubled by sleeplessness and guilt over years of killing, sought counsel from leading monks.
Among them was Thidagu Sayadaw<\/strong>, one of Myanmar\u2019s most influential clerics.
Instead of urging repentance and compassion, he echoed a distorted ancient tale<\/strong>, reassuring the general that the killings were not sinful \u2014 because, he said, most of those killed were not Buddhists.<\/em>
He even claimed that only \u201ctwo hundred Rohingyas\u201d had been killed, and that such a number \u201cdid not amount to ethnic cleansing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was not just political speech \u2014 it was the repetition of a dangerous moral myth that has haunted Buddhism for centuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Ancient Parallel: The Mahavamsa and the Four Monks<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The origins of this reasoning trace back not to Myanmar, but to ancient Sri Lanka<\/strong>, in the Mahavamsa<\/em> \u2014 a Pali chronicle compiled centuries after the Buddha\u2019s passing.
It tells of King Dutthagamani (Dutugemunu)<\/strong>, who fought a bloody war said to have killed over 400,000 people<\/strong>.
After his victory, the King was stricken with remorse and insomnia, horrified by the mass killing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the chronicle, four senior monks flew through the air<\/strong> to comfort him. Instead of encouraging remorse, they told him:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDo not be troubled, O King. Of all those who were slain, only one and a half were true humans \u2014 true Buddhists. The rest were unbelievers.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This teaching \u2014 that killing \u201cinfidels\u201d carried no moral weight \u2014 contradicts the Buddha\u2019s universal message of compassion<\/strong>.
Historians regard the Mahavamsa<\/em> not as sacred scripture but as a nationalist legend<\/strong> that later kings used to justify wars in the name of Buddhism.
It was an early and tragic example of religion being used to bless bloodshed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Thidagu Sayadaw repeated a similar claim before Min Aung Hlaing \u2014 that most victims were non-believers, and thus their deaths were karmically negligible \u2014 he was reviving the same moral corruption<\/strong> born in that ancient story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Lesson from True History: Emperor Ashoka and the Kalinga War<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In contrast to the mythical Dutthagamani tale stands a true, world-changing event: the story of Emperor Ashoka of India<\/strong>.
After the horrific Kalinga War<\/strong>, in which more than 100,000 lives were lost, Ashoka was overcome by deep remorse.
A humble monk confronted him, not with comfort, but with truth \u2014 reminding him of the immense suffering he had caused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ashoka\u2019s conscience awoke.
He renounced violence entirely, embraced the Dhamma, and ruled henceforth as a servant of peace.
He built hospitals for people and animals, protected all faiths, and sent messengers of compassion across Asia.
His transformation \u2014 from conqueror to moral emperor \u2014 stands as the true Buddhist response to guilt and power<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two Paths Before the Sangha<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Today, Myanmar\u2019s Sangha faces the same choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One path is that of Wirathu<\/strong>, Thidagu<\/strong>, and the Ma Ba Tha<\/strong> movement \u2014 monks who have mixed politics with the robe, sanctifying hatred and dividing citizens by faith.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The other path is that of Ashin Sandadika<\/strong>, Shwe Nya War Sayadaw<\/strong>, and Asia Alinyaung Sayadaw<\/strong> \u2014 monks who continue to preach humility, compassion, and interfaith respect even under pressure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Ashin Sandadika<\/strong> urges self-reflection and warns against arrogance within the Sangha.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Shwe Nya War Sayadaw<\/strong> speaks out for justice and the protection of minorities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Asia Alinyaung Sayadaw<\/strong> lives quietly in the spirit of metta<\/em>, helping the suffering without discrimination.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    They embody what the Buddha truly intended monks to be \u2014 physicians for the pain of the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The True Role of Monks in Times of Conflict<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    The monk\u2019s duty is not to bless power, but to awaken conscience.
    When generals or rulers seek moral refuge, the monk\u2019s role is not to excuse, but to enlighten.
    Every killing, regardless of religion, is suffering \u2014 and every human life has equal worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    A true monk heals a killer\u2019s soul not by flattery, but by truth.
    He turns remorse into repentance, not justification.
    That is the Dhamma\u2019s way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Reclaiming the Compassionate Dhamma<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Buddhism once spread across Asia not by the sword, but by Ashoka\u2019s compassion<\/em>.
    If the Sangha of Myanmar remembers this, the robe will again become a symbol of light \u2014 not of fear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The time has come for monks to choose between the legend of Dutthagamani<\/strong> and the truth of Ashoka<\/strong>,
    between Thidagu\u2019s distortion<\/strong> and Sandadika\u2019s sincerity<\/strong>,
    between a robe of pride<\/strong> and a robe of peace<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Only through truth and compassion can the Dhamma once again heal the wounds of our nation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    (MMNN Editorial Commentary) Throughout Myanmar\u2019s long history, the Sangha has shaped the conscience of the nation. The robe carries deep moral power \u2014 capable of guiding kings and generals toward peace, or, tragically, toward justification of hatred. In these troubled times, when war and nationalism once again threaten to overshadow compassion, the Buddha\u2019s warnings in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1963,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7,11,16,62],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3125","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anti-racism","category-articles","category-myanmar-muslims-history","category-opinion","category-thidagu-sitagu-sayadaw-wirathu"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3125"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3127,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3125\/revisions\/3127"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myanmarmuslim.news\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}